“I never thought that I would fall in love like this with a cat.”

Fashion lost an icon this week in the passing of Karl Lagerfeld, the visionary designer who reinvented the Chanel brand.The cat world also lost one of its most ardent cat lovers.Karl Lagerfeld found inspiration and companionship in his Birman cat Choupette, whom he expressed a desire to marry.

A Christmas gift from a friend, Choupette came into his life in 2011.Soon, she had her own Twitter account with thousands of followers, and maids to take care of her every need and record her every move in a journal, so that Lagerfeld who travelled extensively would not miss any of her activities.

Choupette was the namesake for Lagerfeld’s signature Choupette capsule collection of bags and clothing featuring feline motifs. Lagerfeld’s great love for his elegant white cat can be seen in the heart-shaped eyes found on the graphic handbag above.When not serving as Lagerfeld’s muse, Choupette also worked as a highly compensated cat model. She remained his faithful companion until his death on Feb. 19th. My condolences to Choupette.

For more images of fashion inspired by cats, see our free Caticons mini-book at www.caticons.info.

What is a Caticon?

What if you had an (almost) unlimited budget and an unfettered desire to surround yourself with furniture, clothing, art, household objects, books, and pretty much everything else in various semblances of cattitude? You would have Caticons. Welcome to my thirty-year odyssey probing the corners of the art world, catalogues, foreign shores, and cyberspace, all in search of the one Cat Thing I did not yet have.